For many different purposes, striking tools, such as hammers, or the like, have been employed for delivering or imparting an impact force to a selected target. Forces generated by even light-duty striking tools can be considerable due to the mechanical advantage involved with such tools. Accordingly, striking tools have been developed having durable, sometimes hardened materials, at least in a striking head or striking surface thereof, and are typically of robust design. Such durable materials, commonly metal, and such robust design, have produced massive tools.
While such tools exhibit acceptable durability characteristics, they are frequently disadvantageously heavy. As a result, a user may become strained or fatigued from use, resulting in poor control of strikes, damage to materials, or even injury. Consequently, efforts have been made to reduce the weight of striking tools to avoid strain or fatigue during use. Reduction of weight, however, affects a striking force delivered to the selected target when struck at a given velocity. Since certain tasks require substantial striking forces, reducing the weight of a striking tool is not always possible or beneficial. Instead, selective distribution of the mass of a striking tool may provide beneficial properties with respect to durability, ease and/or comfort of use, and strike force capacity.
Additionally, and particularly when used to deliver large force strikes, striking tools may disadvantageously transmit impact vibrations to a user through the handle. Such vibrations can accelerate the onset of strain or fatigue, and cause the user to experience discomfort. Furthermore, such vibrations can contribute to material strain and fatigue, causing damage to the tool itself, reducing tool life and posing a threat of injury. In order to avoid transmissions of such vibrations, striking tools have been provided with cushioned handles or the like. Such cushioned handles, however, fail to prevent vibrations within the tool, and merely serve to isolate a user's hand for comfort.
Finally, as is well known in the art, proper balance of a striking tool, i.e. distribution and location of mass between and within the head and the handle of the tool, contributes to reducing strain and/or fatigue and to improving accuracy.
Thus, it is clear that there is an unmet need for a striking tool that advantageously provides beneficial distribution of sufficient mass to safely and reliably allow accurate delivery of forceful strikes without causing excessive strain or fatigue.